al-Zarqawi's death: The benefits keep rolling in

More interesting news on the late Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Zarqawi still alive after bombing
According to the Associated Press, al-Zarqawi was still alive when Iraqi police arrived at the scene of the attack. His last sight on earth was of US armed forces while his next sight in eternity was not Paradise, but rather hell. What a way to go.

A mortally wounded Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was still alive and mumbling after American airstrikes on his hideout and tried to get off a stretcher when he became aware of U.S. troops at the scene, a top military official said Friday.

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Al-Zarqawi could barely speak when Iraqi police arrived at the scene of Wednesday's attack.

"He mumbled something, but it was indistinguishable and it was very short," U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said at a news conference.

U.S. and Polish forces arrived intending to provide unspecified medical treatment, and al-Zarqawi was put on a stretcher, Caldwell said. The terrorist "attempted to sort of turn away off the stretcher, everybody reached to insert him back. ... He died a short time later from the wounds suffered during the airstrike.

"We did in fact see him alive," he said. "There was some sort of movement he had on the stretcher, and he did die a short time later."

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In an interview earlier Friday with Fox News, Caldwell was more descriptive of Zarqawi's actions before he died.

"He was conscious initially, according to the U.S. forces that physically saw him," Caldwell told Fox. "He obviously had some kind of visual recognition of who they were because he attempted to roll off the stretcher, as I am told, and get away, realizing it was U.S. military."

Coalition forces initiate many more attacks based on info retrieved
Also from the Associated Press, we find that coalition forces have eliminated many other terrorists because of information retrieved from the bombing of al-Zarqawi's hideout. According to the liberals yesterday, eliminating al-Zarqawi was only killing one terrorist and that there would be many more to take his place. As usual, the libs were 100% wrong — the information gathered from the bombing has allowed us to take out many other al-Qaeda operating in Iraq. If I were a member of al-Qaeda, I would be very, very scared about now.

Also, U.S. troops conducted 39 raids late Thursday and early Friday based on information gleaned from searches in the hours after the al- Qaida leader's death. Fearing that insurgents will seek revenge, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki imposed driving bans in Baghdad and restive Diyala province, where the terrorist was killed.

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Caldwell also said U.S. forces have conducted many raids over the past two days based on intelligence gathered from the scene of Zarqawi's killing.

A targeted individual was killed and at least 25 people were captured, he said. One raid discovered small arms, ammunition and other items hidden beneath the floor of a building in the Baghdad area.

Speaking to the British Broadcasting Corp., the spokesman said troops carried out 39 raids overnight in which troops "picked up things like memory sticks, some hard drives" that would allow American forces to begin dismantling al-Zarqawi's al-Qaida in Iraq.

Those raids were based on 17 simultaneous raids U.S. troops staged Wednesday near Baqouba, the capital of Diyala province. The region is in the heartland of the Sunni Arab-led insurgency and has seen a recent rise in sectarian violence. Baqouba is 35 miles northeast of Baghdad.

He said the latest information was helping U.S. forces unravel the source of al-Qaida's weapons and financing.

Captured al-Zarqawi spilled the beans on his leader
This is why one should never minimize the capture of lower-level leaders in terror organizations. I suspect that the interrogation of this dude by the Jordanians "encouraged" him to talk. This will increase the distrust of minions working for these leaders. That's a good thing. Imagine Osama shooting all of his top Lieutenants because of paranoia that they might betray him. According to ABC:

An Iraqi customs agent secretly working with Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's terror cell spilled the beans on the group after he was arrested, Jordanian officials tell ABC News.

Ziad Khalaf Raja al-Karbouly was arrested by Jordanian intelligence forces last spring.

Officials say Karbouly confessed to his role in the terror cell and provided crucial information on the names of Zarqawi commanders and locations of their safe houses.

Karbouly also admitted to his role in the kidnappings of two Moroccan embassy employees, four Iraqi National Guards and an Iraqi finance ministry official.

In a videotaped confession, Karbouly said he acted on direct orders from Zarqawi.

Officials say he will not be eligible for any of the $25 million reward money.

Historical comparisons to al-Zarqawi's death
Yesterday, I compared the death of al-Zarqawi to the "what if" scenario if we had killed Goebbels and 7 top Nazi generals around, say, 1942 or 1943. What a demoralizing effect that would have had on the German people and the military. Well, Wizbang went one notch further and compared al-Zarqawi's death to actual events: (1) Doolittle's raid on the Japan mainland in 1942; and (2) the death of Admiral Yamamoto. These two victories had an extremely demoralizing effect on the Japanese people because their government had promised them that Japan was immune to US attacks and because people assigned almost a deity status to Yamamoto:

The death of Abu Musab al Zarqawi reminds me of two key events during the Pacific war. The first was the Doolittle Raid.

Barely four months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States bombed the home islands of Japan. The 16 B-25 Mitchell medium bombers did almost no damage, but it was a great propaganda victory. The Japanese went nuts trying to figure out where the bombers came from, as Mitchells were Army Air Corps planes, land-based, and we had no bases anywhere near Japan.

What had happened was that the United States had done the unthinkable: we had loaded the big two-engine bombers on to an aircraft carrier, the USS Hornet, and sent it within 700 miles of the Japanese mainland. The planes were stripped of all guns and excess weight, and each only carried four small bombs, and even then not one of them made their designated landing areas in China.

The second comparison was the killing of Admiral Isotropy Yamamoto. Yamamoto, the head of the Japanese Navy and the architect of the attack on Pearl Harbor, was on a tour of Japanese positions in March of 1943. US Navy code-breakers got ahold of his schedule, and a squadron of P-38 Lightning long-range fighters intercepted his flight. Yamamoto's plane was shot down over the island of Bougainville, and Yamamoto was killed.

The Doolittle raid was of absolutely no tactical significance during the war. The damage to Japan was minimal. The real affect of the raid was purely psychological. It was seen as the first crumblings of Japan's sense of invincibility, of the inviolability of their home islands. And in America, it was seen as a stunning victory, a sign that we could — and would — avenge the attack on Pearl Harbor and maybe — just maybe — win this war despite the crushing outset.

Admiral Yamamoto was a hero, a legend among the Japanese. He was one of the most revered leaders, second only to the divine and beloved Emperor. His death was such a shock that the Japanese government kept it a secret for a month.

The death of Zarqawi — so public, so irrefutable — could be a great blow to the terrorists in Iraq. For many, he was almost a folk hero, the swaggering, untouchable warrior. To see him snuffed out so casually, over and over and over again in the media, could very well give some pause, and make them reconsider.

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On the other hand, those who were most frequently Zarqawi's victims — the average civilian populace of Iraq — are seeing his death as a cause for celebration. He will no longer kidnap, torture, and behead people at will. He will not plan and order more bombings. Others may succeed him, but "the Prince of Al Qaeda in Iraq" is dead.

Yes, the "Prince" is dead. Others may succeed him, but there will not likely be anyone to take his place. He was a canny exploiter of the media, a master manipulator of the latest forms of public relations. He carefully sculpted his public persona as the mighty Islamic warrior (certain blooper reels notwithstanding), and that image was irreparably shattered (along with Zarqawi himself) by a couple of 500-lb. bombs the other day.

This does not mean that the fighting in Iraq is over. The deaths of seven terrorists is not that much, overall, when the total number of the enemy is taken into account. If anything, it could even lead to a brief surge in attacks, as Zarqawi's followers desperately try to prove that they are not deterred by his death. But it is, indeed, a great victory.

Democrats call Zarqawi killing a stunt
Yep, you can always count on Democrats to minimize our victories in Iraq and to make up things (Gitmo, Haditha, etc.) to make Bush look bad. But don't dare call them unpatriotic no matter how hard they work to undermine the war effort.

Some Democrats, breaking ranks from their leadership, today said the death of terrorist leader Abu Musab Zarqawi in Iraq was a stunt to divert attention from an unpopular and hopeless war.
"This is just to cover Bush's [rear] so he doesn't have to answer" for Iraqi civilians being killed by the U.S. military and his own sagging poll numbers, said Rep. Pete Stark, California Democrat. "Iraq is still a mess — get out."

Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich, Ohio Democrat, said Zarqawi was a small part of "a growing anti-American insurgency" and that it's time to get out.

"We're there for all the wrong reasons," Mr. Kucinich said.

Officially, Democratic leaders reacted positively to the news and praised the troops that successfully targeted al Qaeda's leader in Iraq with 500-pound bombs at his safe house 30 miles from Baghdad.

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Meanwhile, Democrats sprinkled caveats throughout their praise.

"That is good news; he was a dreadful, vicious person," said Sen. Kent Conrad, North Dakota Democrat. Mr. Conrad added that he hopes the military can get Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri, another top al Qaeda leader.

"They're even more important," he said.

Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, Michigan Democrat, said it was good news but added, "I think we have a long way to go."